We figured we’d get some pretty cool pictures when we announced our Mustangs at the Ballpark Photo Contest, but we had no idea how many awesome photos we’d receive. Narrowing the field down to three winners was a tough job, and there were a lot of great pictures we still wanted to share with everyone, so we decided that a FotoFix was in order. We’re showcasing eight of the coolest pictures that were submitted. Whether in a major, minor, or little league stadium, Mustangs always look great at the ballpark.

Chris’s Mustang shows off with a car-sized bright red Angels cap.

Daniel decided to take his Mustang to play at Isotopes Park. If we lived in Albuquerque, we would do the same.

We recently took possession of our 2011 Mustang GT 5.0L Automatic. There may or may not have been excited giggling as we poured out of our offices to catch a glimpse, but we’re not at liberty to say! Our first impression: this car begs to be pushed to its limits. Small styling changes in the interior are completely overshadowed by the massively impressive upgrade under the hood.

Most of us remember the original 5.0L 302. When Ford released it, it was under-designed and under-powered, and there weren’t any real aftermarket performance parts available at first release. Thankfully, that won’t be the case this time around. The biggest names in aftermarket Mustang parts are developing sweet performance upgrades, and we’re working right alongside them. Our vendors are working with us exclusively to test parts, as well as research fitment and performance. We’re going to be building our GT the same way any enthusiast does—right here, in our garage. Along the way, we’ll be showing you more coverage of our mod strategy and giving you examples of real world numbers, both on the dyno and on the asphalt.

Needless to say, we can’t let a car sit for long. Within hours of delivery of our 2011, we were all thinking of one thing – Maple Grove Raceway. We broke it in as quickly as possible (the hardest 2 days ever!), and high-tailed it to the track this past Friday afternoon for some baseline testing. We were pleased with the times, considering we ran it at the track in its bone-stock condition. Our team laid down some impressive numbers out of the GT, with consistent times of 13.034 at 109mph and 13.022 at 110mph. Check out the awesome video below to see the team flying down the track!

Here’s a new, fun contest from AmericanMuscle: How long do you think someone can sit in a new Mustang and outlast three cabin mates in order to win that Mustang? Maybe weeks and weeks. Honestly, the twisted minds in AM’s contest department don’t care about that. What we want to know is how long it takes a person to get fed up with the others in the car, quit the contest, and leave the car. Now that takes guts.

Make a guess – but you only get one – and submit it via the form below. If your entry is the winner, you’ll receive a nice front end appearance prize consisting of new headlights, a billet grille, and chin spoiler for your own Mustang.

The Glory of Giggle Gas Explained

Question: I’ve heard that NOS is the easiest way to boost power, I wanted to know if that was true and how nitrous actually works.

Answer: Great question! You can learn a lot “through the grapevine” but it’s always important to do your research. Nitrous is considered to be the cheapest power-adder available, but it’s important to understand how it changes your car’s performance before you go all gas-happy…

There’s a stash of 2010 AmericanMuscle calendars in our warehouse, and we thought we’d share them with our blog readers. When you sign up for e-mail blog updates, we’ll send you a calendar. Here’s how it works.

Click the envelope icon in the top right corner. (see the illustration below)

Enter your email address and fill out the anti-spam verification box.

Send an email to calendars@americanmuscle.com from the email address you signed up with. Make sure you include your name, shipping address, and phone number, and that the email is sent from the address you signed up with, so we can verify it. Please note that any personal information will be used solely to process your calendar order, and that calendars can only be shipped to locations in the US and Canada.

Hang your awesome calendar up and enjoy the pictures of all the gorgeous Mustangs.

We received some amazing entries for our Mustangs At the Ballpark Photo Contest. Locations ranged from the local little league field to some major league stadiums, and there were some truly awesome photos. In fact, there were so many great photos that we’ll be featuring several on the blog next week. In the end, we had to choose just three winners though. Thanks to everybody who sent an entry in, and congratulations to our winners, who are listed below with their winning photos.

Runners Up:

Jordan S’s picture of his Mustang lit up in front of Progressive Field, where the Cleveland Indians play earned him a $25 AmericanMuscle.com gift card, plus an awesome prize pack.

A small adjustment can make a huge difference in the way something looks. Changing out your grille is the same principle–a minor adjustment makes a big difference in the overall look and style of your Mustang. You can make your Mustang sleeker, darker, meaner, or sexier with a relatively small amount of work. Not every look appeals to every person though, so we’d like to know which grilles are your personal favorites. Below are some of our most popular grilles, listed by generation and ready for your vote. Don’t see the grille you like best for one of the body styles? Leave a comment to let us know what your favorite is.

If you were at last year’s AmericanMuscle car show, you know just how awesome it was. You also know how quickly the lot filled with more than 150 Mustangs. This year’s show will be even bigger and better than last year’s, and we’re giving you the opportunity to register early to make sure you can get in on all the action.

Within 1-2 days, you’ll get an email asking you for more registration information.

Follow the link in the e-mail and fill out your registration info.

On September 11, 2010 (or 9/18 if it rains on the 11th), come on down to Kimberton Firehouse and hang out with tons of Mustang lovers and the AM crew.

Show Features and Details:

This year, we have space for 500 Mustangs, so you can bring your whole car club! We’ll be parking cars as they come in, so make sure you arrive with the folks you want to be parked with. The show will be held at the Kimberton Firehouse, and we’ll be handing out free raffle tickets for thousands of dollars worth of prizes. We’ll be handing out awards like Best of Show and Best Specialty Class. You can meet the awesome folks who work at AM, and check out the hot AM girls, too. And if that’s not reason enough to come out, all proceeds from the show will be donated to Homes for Our Troops, AM’s official corporate charity. Last year, we raised $9,365 and we’re aiming to be able to donate even more this year.

We all love our Mustangs. But for most of us, that’s where any commonality that we may have with the glitterati ends. Still, imagine this: You’re sitting at a traffic light. A tricked out Mustang pulls up next to your own street king, and you glance over. Would you give the “let’s go” nod to one of these fine rides – and the driver behind the wheel?

Sammy Hagar

There are those of us of a certain age who crank up the volume and put a bit more pressure on the accelerator when rocker Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive (55)” comes blasting through the speakers. Apparently, Sammy still can’t drive 55. In fact, the speedometer on his GCM-R fastback Mustang doesn’t even have numbers on the dial until 55 MPH. And it’s all smoke and watching his tail lights disappear from there. Check out this video of Hagar’s thoroughly bad-to-the-bone California street ride.

Marty’s Comments: “I started with what seemed to be a rather plain looking Mustang GT that I purchased from a Corvette dealer in Edmonton. The car only had 2,300km on it and to this day it still has under 5,000km. The transformation began approximately 3 years ago with custom-painted Eleanor racing strips, as vinyl did not cut it for me. The rear, side, and rear window louvers followed next and added a cool look. The 350hp stock engine with a cold air intake grew to be insufficient for me and had no choice but to go play with the big boys. I have yet to have the car dyno’d, but have been advised that I have at least 500hp at the flywheel and approximately 450 rear wheel. I have yet to install the smaller pulley for my supercharger, that should take the hp up to 550. The finishing touch to the extreme power I now have was the deep-dish Bullitt rims & tires that get so much attention at Mustang rallies. The only thing I was lacking in the end was brakes. Willwood 6 piston calipers and rotors were installed by Cobra Motor Sports to help me stop a little more efficiently. I hope you like my ride, as it sincerely turns heads every time I am out driving in sunny Alberta, Canada.